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Wiggins vs. Froome

I’ve never been a big Bradley Wiggins fan. He does way too much questionable stuff and acts pompus way too often. I’ve written a couple posts about Bradley, about hanging on Tenerife, or about ranting about Paul Kimmage, etc. I called him a douche.

I wish I would have called him a hypocritical douche. David Walsh wrote an article in the Sunday London Times yesterday and was title, “It Looks Bad, Brad”. See, I could have never thought up that catching title.

Anyway, he goes through Wiggins history with getting injected with steroids before Grand Tours, which he received TUE’s for. But the hypocritical part is that he he wrote a book and said that he had never received an injection. He exact quote is –

“I’ve never had an injection, apart from I’ve had my vaccinations, and on occasion I’ve been put on a drip, when I’ve come down with diarrhoea or something or have been severely dehydrated.”

No one made him write a book and say that. So, that makes him look pretty much like a liar. Plus, I’d bet you a million dollars that IV drip that he said he had been put on “occasion”, is way, way more than occasionally. I’ve done two IV’s in my life, while racing, and that seems like doping to me. At least it feels that way.

So, I don’t like the way he acts, they way he treats others, the way he trains, or the way he went from 185 lbs to 150 and back to 180 again. I’m not big on him.

Chris Froome, on the other hand, doesn’t do what Wiggins does. I wasn’t too initially big on him. Almost seemed like a Wiggins clone. But that is slowly changing. He does do a few things that I don’t get. Calling Levis up to ride, after breaking his wrist in the Tour, wasn’t big on my list.

He seems to be genuinely nice to people, calls for more test from WADA from training at Tenerife, and had become somewhat aggressive in bike racing. It is a little hard to get over his pedalling style, but that is a little amusing, so it has some value.

The biggest swaying of my opinion is that most of his team mates say he’s great. That is the best way to judge someone you don’t know. If his team mates, that I do know, say he’s a nice guy, then mostly he is a nice guy.

RIchie Porte, that roomed with Froome told Velonews – “He is a nice guy. Anyone on Twitter or anywhere else who has a problem with Chris Froome, they’re the ones with the problem,” Porte told VeloNews. “He’s a good guy, he’s down to earth. He’s got time for everybody.”

Okay, Tucker was sick last night and up most of the night doing the same thing I did last week. He feels way better this morning, he’s already been swimming this morning and ate a tad, so that is great. I don’t feel that good though. If only I were a dog.

think about this: wiggins’ upbringing was pretty f’ed up, abusive & absent alcoholic dad and all. i think most people would end up with some serious personality flaws if put in the same situation. so there’s that. plus he looks like pure class on the bike! 😉

When you look at this “Fancy Bear” hack, at first it looks like a bunch of teenagers broke into a system and leaked a bunch of stuff that was “old news” (or not very useful). But there’s a very odd commonality regarding what they chose to leak about (and not so much “who”). It’s Triamcinolone:

Walsh wrote:
“One former Postal rider, who asked not to be named, said that in his career he had used the two drugs given to Wiggins and Froome under the TUE system. “Oral prednisolone works on clearing your airways but it doesn’t affect performance. Injected Kenalog [triamcinolone], that’s ­different. That is a powerful drug and it sure as hell helps performance.” ”

I think what’s coming out is that our top riders these days are very knowledgeable about pharmacology. VERY.

“Bradley Wiggins has denied that the Belgian doctor Gert Leinders had played a role in his decision to apply for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) before three big races. The TUE allowed him to use an otherwise banned steroid, TRIAMCINALONE (there’s that drug name again). Lance Armstrong had tested positive for the steroid during the 1999 Tour de France (see, uh-huh). Leinders (the name on Wiggins’ TUE) was later banned from cycling for his involvement with doping at the Rabobank team from 2002-09.”

These guys are usually correct in assuming that most badness passes us by without any of us saying anything. But every so often, we’re able to read, look back, connect the dots again, and then the house of cards falls apart all over again.

I find it interesting that no one here is concerned about the hackers, some say might be Russian based with an agenda to deflect attention away from state-sponsored doping. If the TUE system is abused, then it needs to be better regulated. Don’t fault riders and teams operating legally within the rules. That said, Wiggins is a dope for painting himself in a corner. Ever wonder why Sky pushed him aside for Froome?

Tilly – So you’ve had a couple IV’s over the years for racing but how about injections? Remember back in the early days at the OTC the coaches would line-up the juniors (certainly during your years there) for their ‘vitamin B-12 injections?’ Did you fall for that old Eastern Bloc trick or did you take a pass?

Example: You’re the Secretary of State, and you don’t want to have to provide your work emails when the department receives FOIA requests from the media (and public). So you keep it all on a server in your basement, all mixed together (personal and government business). And you go about your daily routine (as Secretary of State) using an insecure Blackberry handheld. And then your shit gets exposed, and you blame the Russians? Holy shit, Lady. OF COURSE THE RUSSIANS ARE GOING TO TRY AND HACK YOUR SHIT. YOU PRACTICALLY BEGGED THEM TO HACK YOU. Besides, it’s not like they “broke into” anything. One of your stupid-as-shit staffers probably (unwittingly) gave them the log-in info.

How about this, people?… Stop giving a bunch of Russian teenagers all kinds of nefarious shit that’s easy for them to find. Just don’t do stupid SHIT. Don’t lie. Don’t dope. Don’t try to legitimatize your doping with TUEs

And shit, people, this isn;t even their first langauge. And another thing. It probably isn’t a bunch of Russians. It’s probably people right here. Russians are easy to paint as “being against us”, so when you fuck up, all you have to do is blame Russian hackers. You know: It is possible to get hacked by AMERICAN teenagers.

Anyone see that Sagan won the European title? :o) I try not to focus on the dopers anymore (it seems like there are so many of them now – quite a statement on how ineffective WADA is in controlling doping in cycling), even if dopers win, in my mind, they didn’t win at all, and they’re not worth even ten seconds of my time or attention. It’s like giving press to serial killers who kill solely for public attention. Give them no attention, they don’t become famous. Exposing them on the other hand, def gets my vote. It’s a crazy world we’re living in.

Strock and Kaiter are at least five years younger than Steve. Pretty sure that Mr. Tilford was never “coached” by Carmichael nor Wenzel at any juncture.

Lance was in the same OTC program the year before and they can’t even make a case against him. (I always assumed that he had flourished under the same regime that ruined the two successful plaintiffs’ health too.)

Steve, if wiggins read ur blog, he probably question u , at ur highest level of racing , of only taking two iv’s. I’m not questioning you, I’m just saying Nobody tells the truth anymore, espically with the $$$$$$$ on the table.a super domistique on a team or a leader of a team in one day rzces could be the only difference is the leader being 4% better cause he’s doping. ANd you know the leaders making more $ than the helpers. Helpers are healthy and poor, the leaders rich and a cheat

ST let pick ya brain on nutrition .when it comes to carbing up for a long ride whats better Dominos or Pizza Hut? I usually knock out a medium. (And by medium I mean extra large) and also I recently heard that smoking may actually b good 4 u.. How could I effectively work that in 2 my training without disrupting my Twinky intake. And is it possible to consider Doritos as a vitamin supplement? It is high in vitamin A,( according to the bag )
Sillypuddy OUT!

East of Java – I was wandering the halls when the eastern european’s arrived in the late ’70’s. I also was there when the returning North American pro’s brought us their new & improved training ‘programs.’ It’s a generation plus long road that hit it’s peak furing the US Postal mess and no one looks at the root of it all. The best untold story of the last 40 years in US cycling

The one thing I’ll sat for Wiggo is that he is a genuine bike weenie. All the cutting edge carbon bikes and $4000 wheelsets that he ever had handed to him and he went out of his way to get a used Moser AX Leader for his retirement.

(Just judging from the picture, nobody ever told him about the quill seatpost though?)

Why bother questioning the character of either rider, who gives a shit, they have good genes and ride bikes fast, that’s it. If you enjoy the pleasure of pain from riding fast, this comes easy. We put these guys on a pedestal because they’ve ridden fast on a bicycle. Are they an inspiration to some, sure. But break it down, its bike racing. If you enjoy It, keep riding. Doping aside, does it really matter who is nice guy bike rider and who is not.

I agree with you Barb. I don’t like those kick of serial killers easy. To narcissistic. I like the kind that does it for the pure joy of it. I think my favorite is he Garbage Pail Killer. He would hide in a dumster. And when an unsuspecting victim would take out the trash, the GBK Killer would jump up and pelt them with whatever was handy: soup cans, pickle jars, chicken bones, coffee grounds,…. . sometimes he would throw out a banana peel so they wouldn’t get a way. He was finally captured after he was fingered in a line up by Oscar the Grouch. Well it’s beddy-by-time.
Sillypuddy OUT!

Scrum, are you going to do a race report of the last time trial that raced? What was the weather conditions? Direction and MPH of the wind? What wheel setup did you use? What Pascals did you run in the front? What bars did you run in the rear? Did you catch your minute man? Did your minute man catch you? Did you make any errors that cost you a few split seconds? Did you remember to move your eyes instead of your head/aero TT helmet to scan ahead while cornering? If you could do that race all over again — What 3 things would you do differently? What 3 things would you do exactly the same? What are you plans for the offseason? Are you going to race any cyclo-time-cross-trials? Do you have any plans of going into a wind tunnel to perfect your position/bike setup/aerodynamics? What are your primary objectives/goals for next years time trial season?

Are you going to give a play by play of your most recent BIG-RIG TRUCKIN’ expedition you went on with your BIG-RIG TRUCKIN’ buddy? What type of rig was ya in? Peterbuilt? International? Freightliner? Kenworth? Volvo? Mack? In your expert opinion (as you are a foremost expert on this subject) was your BIG-RIG TRUCKIN’ buddy’s peter built pretty well? What was y’all haulin’? Did your BIG-RIG TRUCKIN’ buddy let you grab ahold of his stick and let you ram and jam it into all 18 gears? Or did you caress and finesse his stick into all 18 gears?

Froome. I think he is artificial as they come. My gut says charming liar. This year’s tour felt like they needed a new tactic to demonstrate validity since people were complaining about the robotic nature of it all. That downhill attack where noone chased looked really interesting, but no one’s chasing? looked kind of orchestrated, rigged. Time will tell.

For me wiggins is the more complete rider. Bouncing back to the pursuit and winning anouther championship is all i need 2 c. But it is disappointing not 2 watch the rivalry grow. Wiggins had the chance to race against one of the best cyclist in the grand tours and decided not. None of the great legends of the sport would have shied away from the challenge.
Sillypuddy OUT
BY GALLY

I just feel that both cats are super-responders. The right program turned wiggo into a climber, and froome into a climber tt guy. I love the early TT in his career where he fell off the start ramp, then ran into an official. Pure comedy gold. No evidence tt was in his capacity early. They’ve got something that strips the fat quick. Turns heavy trackies that look destined to be roulers into mountain goats- wiggo, froome, thomas, even porte dropped a crap ton of weight one off season. If he were the team exception, I would be more easily swayed, but since it looks systematic, I have to be skeptical.